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NEC Offensive Player of the Week: Cole Doyle, Saint Francis U
NEC Defensive Player of the Week: Eric O'Neill, LIU
NEC Special Teams Player of the Week: Jack Barnum, Central Connecticut
NEC Rookie of the Week: Mekhi Workman, Saint Francis U
Previous NEC Releases: Preseason Poll Release |
TV Package Release
NEC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cole Doyle, Saint Francis U
Quarterback, R-Jr., 5-10, 175 lbs., Glendale, CA (Crescenta Valley/College of the Canyons)
Week 1 Stats: 14-24, 58.3 pass completion percentage, 230 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 77-yard long TD pass
Doyle, the reigning NEC Offensive Player of the Year, picked up right where he left off on Thursday night. The redshirt junior quarterback threw for 230 yards in a hard-fought Saint Francis U defeat at FBS opponent Western Michigan in Kalamazoo, MI. The highlight of Doyle’s night came in the second quarter when the California product found teammate Dawson Snyder for a 77-yard touchdown with 1:12 remaining. The 77-yard bomb not only marked a career-long throw for Doyle; it also marked Saint Francis U’s first passing player over 70 yards since 2019. In addition, Doyle, who went 14-24 for a .583 pass completion percentage, did not throw an interception for the fifth consecutive game, a streak that goes back to an NEC game against Stonehill last season on Oct. 22. This is Doyle’s fourth career NEC Offensive Player of the Week honor.
NEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Eric O’Neill, LIU
Defensive End, R-So., 6-3, 250 lbs., Staten Island, NY/Tottenville
Week 1 Stats: 13 total tackles (6 solo), 1 sack, 3.5 TFL, 1 INT
O’Neill garners NEC Defensive Player of the Week recognition for the third time in his career after he put together another solid game in LIU’s season debut at Ohio University on Saturday. The reigning NEC Defensive Rookie of the Year led all NEC players with a game-high 13 tackles, marking the second time in his career that the Staten Island, NY native hits double digits in the category. Tallying 3.5 tackles-for-loss, O’Neill also stuffed the stat sheet with one sack and an interception.
NEC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jack Barnum, Central Connecticut
Kicker/Punter, So., 6-2, 200 lbs., Southington, CT/Southington
Week 1 Stats: 3-3 FG, 48-yard long , 5-5 PAT, 14 points, 46.7 yards/kickoff, 3 touchbacks
Barnum’s accuracy resulted in 14 points for Central Connecticut, which rolled past visiting AIC with a season-opening 44-0 victory at Arute Field Saturday night. The sophomore kicker/punter was spot on all seven of his kicks, going a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals and 5-for-5 on PATs. On the Blue Devils’ opening drive, Barnum came on and launched a 48-yard field goal — the longest for a Central Connecticut kicker since Francis Cole booted a 45-yarder at Columbia on Oct. 12, 2019 — to make it a 3-0 game. Also converting from 31 and 45 yards, the local product from Southington, CT became the first Central Connecticut placekicker to record a pair of 40+ yard field goals since Cole had kicks from 42 and 44 yards against Merrimack on Sep. 7, 2019. Barnum, who also handled the Blue Devils’ kickoff duties, averaged 46.7 yards per boot with three touchbacks.
NEC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Mekhi Workman, Saint Francis U
Wide Receiver, Fr., 5-10, 155 lbs., Baltimore, MD/St. Frances Academy
Week 1 Stats: 4 receptions, 62 receiving yards
Workman had an impressive showing in his collegiate debut at FBS opponent Western Michigan on Thursday evening. The wide receiver from Baltimore, MD registered a game-high four catches to close out the night with 62 yards. Workman’s first career reception — a 41-yarder from redshirt junior Cole Doyle — gave Saint Francis U a first down on a 3rd and 11 and led to the Red Flash’s first points of the season on a 21-yard Mac Plummer field goal attempt in the second quarter. Workman currently ranks third among Red Flash receivers this season.
#NECFB PRIME PERFORMERS (Week 1)
Jack Barnum, CCSU (K/P, So.)
Barnum was on-point in Central Connecticut’s season debut against AIC on Saturday, going 3-for-3 on field goals and 5-for-5 on extra point attempts. The sophomore racked up 14 points after converting from 48, 31 and 45 yards in the 44-0 win. Barnum was also named the NEC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Davion Johnson, CCSU (WR, Jr.)
Johnson was sensational in his Central Connecticut debut, racking up 156 yards of offense to lead the Blue Devils to a 44-0 ousting of visiting AIC on Saturday. Totaling a game-high 103 receiving yards on six catches, the junior averaged 17.7 yards per rush after running for 53 yards on three carries.
Ayden Garnes, DUQ (DB, R-So.)
Garnes was the sparkplug of a Duquesne defensive effort that had four first-quarter takeaways and held visiting Edinboro to 170 yards of offense in a 49-7 victory on Saturday. Beginning the game with a pick six on the Fighting Scots’ first drive of the game, the redshirt sophomore defensive back added 2.0 tackles and a pass breakup.
Eric O’Neill, LIU (DB, R-So.)
O’Neill led all NEC players with 13 tackles and 3.5 tackles-for-loss in LIU’s season opener at Ohio University on Saturday. The redshirt sophomore defensive back stuffed the stat sheet with one sack and an interception. O’Neill was also named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week, marking the third time that he earns the honor in his career.
Gavin McCusker, MC (QB, So.)
McCusker threw for 176 yards in Merrimack’s hard-fought defeat at No. 5 Holy Cross on Saturday. The sophomore quarterback tacked on a career-high 78 yards on the ground, including a five-yard touchdown run that sent the Warriors into the halftime break with a 17-14 lead.
Cole Doyle, SFU (QB, R-Jr.)
Doyle had a solid start to the 2023 season, going 14-of-24 with 230 yards and one touchdown at FBC opponent Western Michigan on Thursday. The redshirt junior registered a career-long 77-yard touchdown pass to classmate Dawson Snyder in the final minutes of the first half. Doyle was also tabbed the NEC Offensive Player of the Week for the fourth time in his career.
William Middleton, SFU (LB, Jr.)
Middleton posted a career-high eight tackles in Saint Francis U’s season-opening defeat at FBC opponent Western Michigan on Thursday. The junior linebacker’s two tackles-for-loss against the Broncos tied his entire 2022 output in the category.
Sam Murphy, STO (LB, Sr.)
Sam Murphy paced the Stonehill defense with six tackles, including 2.0 tackles-for-loss, against No. 11 New Hampshire on Saturday. The senior linebacker added one pass breakup in the Skyhawks’ season debut.
Steven Krajewski, WC (QB, Gr.)
Graudate student quarterback Steven Krajewski threw for 334 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Wagner’s 46-16 defeat at Fordham on Saturday. In his first start as a Seahawk, he became the first Wagner quarterback since Luke Massei in 2017 to throw for more than 300 yards in a game.
Trevor Shorter, WC (WR, Jr.)
Shorter racked up a league-best 131 yards on five catches and a touchdown in Wagner’s season debut at Fordham on Saturday. The junior sparked a third-quarter drive that resulted in a Rickey Spruill touchdown with a game-long 53-yard reception.
AROUND THE NEC IN 8 SENTENCES
CENTRAL CONNECTICUT opened the Adam Lechtenberg era with a 44-0 home win over AIC, marking the Blue Devils’ first shutout since a 28-0 victory over LIU on Oct. 26, 2019.
DUQUESNE extended its winning streak in home openers to 16 after the Dukes posted their largest margin of victory since 2021 with Saturday’s 42-point victory over Edinboro.
LIU redshirt sophomore Luca Stanzani suffered his first loss as starting quarterback Saturday at Ohio University but had a strong showing for the Sharks, completing 21 of 33 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown.
MERRIMACK, which held a 17-14 halftime lead at No. 5 Holy Cross on Saturday, did not commit a turnover against the Crusaders.
SACRED HEART’s 19-14 defeat to Lafayette on Saturday marked the first time that the Pioneers dropped a home opener under 12th-year head coach Mark Nofri.
SAINT FRANCIS U, which had its nine-game regular-season winning streak get snapped at FBS opponent Western Michigan, has won seven of the past eight meetings against Robert Morris, the Red Flash’s next opponent.
STONEHILL running back Jermaine Corbett rushed for multiple touchdowns for the fourth time in his career after recording 2-yard and 23-yard runs against No. 11 New Hampshire on Saturday.
WAGNER’s 344 passing yards against Fordham on Saturday were the most recorded in a single game by the Seahawks since 2018, when they threw for 377 yards against Monmouth.